Cap. 204 Art. 34Payment systems.

(1) The Bank shall, in accordance with the Treaties and the Statute, oversee and regulate the operation of, and the participation in, domestic payment systems as well as any form of cash or securities transactions, whether domestic or cross-border, that may be involved therein, and may itself establish and operate such a payment system.

(2) No person shall organise, establish, operate or participate in a domestic payment system unless such system, including the rules of the system, are approved by the Bank and, without prejudice to sub-article (3), and article 56(2) or to any other penalty which may be imposed under this Act, the Bank shall have the right to order:

(a) the closure of a domestic payment system which has been set up, or is being operated, without the necessary approval, and

(b) the suspension of the operations of an approved domestic payment system or the revocation of the approval granted by the Bank in cases where the domestic payment system is or has been operated in breach of such approval, or of any term or condition imposed by the Bank, and the person concerned shall abide by any such orders issued by the Bank.

(3) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the provisions of sub-article (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine (multa) not exceeding forty-five thousand euro or to imprisonment not exceeding two years, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(4) No proceedings for an offence under sub-article (3) shall be commenced without the consent of the Attorney General.

(5) The Bank may issue, amend or revoke directives in respect of any or all of the objects mentioned in subarticles (1) and (2) including, without prejudice to the generality of the aforesaid, the regulation of payment systems, the regulation of clearing houses, settlement agents and participants in payment systems as well as the legal enforceability of payments made through such systems and the collateral given in connection with the operation of such a payment system: Provided that the Bank’s powers to issue directives under this sub-article shall be exercised in accordance with the Treaties, Article 22 of the Statute and any regulations issued thereunder.

(6) Unless otherwise provided in the directives made in virtue of sub-article (5), payments, set-off or netting made through or within a payment system including any collateral given by a participant in connection with any such system, shall, notwithstanding any other law relating to bankruptcy or insolvency or to the regulation and enforcement of collateral or otherwise regulating the validity of such payments, set-off or netting and the giving of collateral, be final and binding on all parties thereto and may not be attacked or impugned in any court of law. To the extent specified by the Bank in directives as aforesaid, any payment order, set-off or netting made through or within a payment system by a participant and any collateral given in connection with such a system shall, notwithstanding any other law as aforesaid, not be the subject of an attachment or seizure order, nor of a warrant of prohibitory injunction issued at the request of the creditors of the participant.